Palos Verdes Reef Restoration
In accordance with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Coastal Environments (CE) proposed to create 69 acres of rocky-reef habitat on submerged lands located offshore of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. This proposed action is referred to as the Palos Verdes Reef Restoration Project (PVRRP). The rocky-reef habitat will be created through the placement of 70,300 tons of quarried rock on 40 acres of sandy ocean bottom within a 69-acre project site. The quarry rock will be transported to the site via tugboat and barge from existing quarries on Catalina Island, Los Angeles County, California.
The purpose of the PVRRP is to restore rocky-reef habitats and associated marine species on the Palos Verdes Shelf that were impacted by contamination in the sediments from the discharge of DDT and PCB from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant’s Whites Point Outfall (JWPCP), as well as to restore reefs that have been impacted by sedimentation and scour. CE’s role in the project will be to fulfill the objective of the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP) to restore fish and the habitats upon which they depend within the Southern California Bight (SCB). This reef will provide essential fish habitat and substrate for kelp, other marine algae, and marine invertebrates to become attached to, creating a productive rocky-reef ecosystem in an area with limited hard substrate.
The construction of the Palos Verdes Reef will employ the “push off” construction method previously utilized by Coastal Environments in the construction of the Wheeler North Reef. In this method, a derrick barge is held in place by six anchor locations. This anchoring system allows for small movements in the barges to accurately maneuver the next “push off” location.
This project is planned to be built in the southeastern part of Santa Monica Bay between Bunker Point and Point Fermin, located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los Angeles, California. The reef placement site is located approximately 0.3 miles (0.5 km) offshore, past the existing kelp beds in water depths between 15-23 m. The project site measures approximately 115 acres and parallel about 1.5 miles of coastline.
Client
NOAA Restoration Center
501 West Ocean Blvd., Ste. 4470
Long Beach, CA 90802
